The present disclosure generally relates to personal care products such as diapers, training pants, feminine care articles, incontinence articles, bandages, and the like, and more particularly to such products that have been treated to enhance liquid intake and distribution performance characteristics and reduce leakage.
A wide variety of disposable absorbent articles for collecting bodily fluids are known in the art. Examples of such articles include disposable diapers and training pants, feminine hygiene products, such as sanitary napkins and tampons, incontinent care products such as pads and undergarments, and wound dressing products, such as bandages.
One problem associated with absorbent articles is their tendency to leak before the liquid absorbent capacity of the entire absorbent article is fully used. Leakage typically results from the inability of the absorbent article to fully intake liquids rapidly and completely when large amounts of liquids are discharged into the article. Another problem that may contribute to leakage is the inability of the absorbent core of the article to move or distribute sufficient amounts of liquid between discharges from a target area portion of the absorbent core to more distal and more remote end regions of the absorbent core which have not been used. This results in saturation of only the central target area of the absorbent core, which may in turn result in poor performance and leakage of the product. Consequently, there is a continuing effort by absorbent article manufacturers to improve the liquid intake and distribution performance of absorbent articles to thereby reduce the tendency of such articles to leak as they become increasingly saturated during use, particularly where the article is subjected to repeated liquid insults before being discarded.
Certain fluids, such as menses, have viscoelastic properties that make obtaining good intake and distribution performance particularly problematic. In particular, the relatively high viscosity and/or elasticity of such fluids tends to interfere with the absorption and distribution of the fluids within the absorbent article. In other instances, intake performance of an absorbent article may be impeded when components of the menses block the open channels between superabsorbent particles or fibers contained in the absorbent article. This phenomenon is often referred to as fouling. Attempts have been made to improve absorption and distribution of fluids with high viscoelastic properties by modifying the viscoelastic properties of the fluid itself. However, treatments that reduce viscoelasticity do not always improve fluid distribution and intake into absorbent articles, and may have no effect on fouling, and in certain instances, may even increase the fouling effect of the fluid.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a treatment that may be used in connection with personal care products, such as absorbent articles, that provides products that have an improved intake and distribution performance, and reduced leakage. Additionally, it would be advantageous if the treatment not only reduced the viscoelastic properties of the fluid being absorbed, but also decreased the fouling effect of the fluid.